Landslide generated impulse waves

Landslide generated impulse waves were investigated in a two-dimensional physical laboratory model based on the generalized Froude similarity. Digital particle image velocimetry (PIV) was applied to the landslide impact and wave generation. Areas of interest up to 0.8m by 0.8m were investigated. The challenges posed to the measurement system in an extremely unsteady three-phase flow consisting of granular matter, air, and water were considered. The complex flow phenomena in the first stage of impulse wave initiation are: high-speed granular slide impact, slide deformation and penetration into the fluid, flow separation, hydrodynamic impact crater formation, and wave generation. During this first stage the three phases are separated along sharp interfaces changing significantly within time and space. Digital masking techniques are applied to distinguish between phases thereafter allowing phase separated image processing. PIV provided instantaneous velocity vector fields in a large area of interest and gave insight into the kinematics of the wave generation process. Differential estimates such as vorticity, divergence, elongational, and shear strain were extracted from the velocity vector fields. The fundamental assumption of irrotational flow in the Laplace equation was confirmed experimentally for these non-linear waves. Applicability of PIV at large scale as well as to flows with large velocity gradients is highlighte

Landslide generated impulse waves. 2. Hydrodynamic impact craters

Landslide generated impulse waves were investigated in a two-dimensional physical laboratory model based on the generalized Froude similarity. Digital particle image velocimetry (PIV) was applied to the landslide impact and wave generation. Areas of interest up to 0.8m by 0.8m were investigated. PIV provided instantaneous velocity vector fields in a large area of interest and gave insight into the kinematics of the wave generation process. Differential estimates such as vorticity, divergence, and elongational and shear strain were extracted from the velocity vector fields. At high impact velocities flow separation occurred on the slide shoulder resulting in a hydrodynamic impact crater, whereas at low impact velocities no flow detachment was observed. The hydrodynamic impact craters may be distinguished into outward and backward collapsing impact craters. The maximum crater volume, which corresponds to the water displacement volume, exceeded the landslide volume by up to an order of magnitude. The water displacement caused by the landslide generated the first wave crest and the collapse of the air cavity followed by a run-up along the slide ramp issued the second wave crest. The extracted water displacement curves may replace the complex wave generation process in numerical models. The water displacement and displacement rate were described by multiple regressions of the following three dimensionless quantities: the slide Froude number, the relative slide volume, and the relative slide thickness. The slide Froude number was identified as the dominant paramete

Detection of a Third Planet in the HD 74156 System Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope

We report the discovery of a third planetary mass companion to the G0 star HD 74156. High precision radial velocity measurements made with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope aided the detection of this object. The best fit triple Keplerian model to all the available velocity data yields an orbital period of 347 days and minimum mass of 0.4 M_Jup for the new planet. We determine revised orbital periods of 51.7 and 2477 days, and minimum masses of 1.9 and 8.0 M_Jup respectively for the previously known planets. Preliminary calculations indicate that the derived orbits are stable, although all three planets have significant orbital eccentricities (e = 0.64, 0.43, and 0.25). With our detection, HD 74156 becomes the eighth normal star known to host three or more planets. Further study of this system's dynamical characteristics will likely give important insight to planet formation and evolutionary processes.Comment: 24 pages, 4 tables, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. V2 fixed table 4 page overrun. V3 added reference

Bose-Einstein condensation of alkaline earth atoms: 40^{40}{Ca}

We have achieved Bose-Einstein condensation of $^{40}$Ca, the first for an alkaline earth element. The influence of elastic and inelastic collisions associated with the large ground state s-wave scattering length of $^{40}$Ca was measured. From these findings, an optimized loading and cooling scheme was developed that allowed us to condense about $2 \cdot 10^4$ atoms after laser cooling in a two-stage magneto-optical trap and subsequent forced evaporation in a crossed dipole trap within less than 3 s. The condensation of an alkaline earth element opens novel opportunities for precision measurements on the narrow intercombination lines as well as investigations of molecular states at the $^1$S--$^3$P asymptotes